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gun sales skyrocket...

I have seen on the TV that gun sales were pretty brisk down the lower 48 this past week. Just out of curiosity I went out to (the larger) 3 gun shops this evening (in FBKS) and spoke with the folks at the gun counter of each place and all said sales were rather high just after the elections and this last week. I didn't see one Mini-14 or m1a stocked, and also noticed that the handguns were still well stocked but I don't know if those will follow the latest trend or if they already have accelerated in sales as I haven't paid much attention to the popular handguns. Does this come as a supprise to anyone else after election day? What will you buy if the opportunity presents itself, and, or will this pass and things settle down and gun sales resume to a normal state?

This exerpt is straight form change.gov. It is the official site of the presidential transition team.

"Obama and Biden would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent."

Will I buy? Already have this week.

As for things settling down? No clue, they may, but I think they will kick back into gear as soon as a fresh bill gets into the House.

It took me about 1.5 hours to find 500 308 brass casings, 400 hornady fmj bt 150 grain bullets online today. Usually its about a 5 minute job. I talked to the guys today at Ammo King(Anchorage) and they said that once they sell out of what they have, ammo is pretty slim pickings. He said he ordered about 500,000 rounds of ammo before the election and the company wont tell him when it is comming. He said they stopped returning their calls. I dont know how long its going to take the ammo companies and gun manufacturors to play catch up but if you dont already have a supply of ammo or hand load, it may be some time before you find ammo readly available in large quantities. Ordering preloaded ammo online is a bit harder for everyone in AK. The hazardous material shipping fee off sets the cost. Last time I checked it was like $30 bucks for up to 80 pounds. Hopefully all of this calms down in the near future. I already see a little price gouging going on in some stores around Anchorage. For example I bought my Yugo SKS from a guy about 3 weeks ago for $250. Same guns are for sale in the same store for $280 now. Hopefully that does not apply to the ammo soon.

The realization that, as president, with a stacked congress, Obama will pursue policies that he has been pursuing for years already in the state and federal legislature is just common sense.

I have bought some ammo lately... and fortunately not once have I paid a dollar more than it cost a month ago. Yes, it is considerably more than a year ago, but ammo prices have been rising at historic rates due to various factors. The previously rising cost of brass, copper and lead (until October when commodities crashed), and the war all contribute to this. BUT, that said, the two local gun shops I frequent (Boondocks and AK Tactical) have sold out of alot... but at their standard pre-election prices. No gouging. Folks like that are harder and harder to find these days and I appreciate their honestly and will continue to give them my business.

As for volume..... you can blow 1000 rounds just in a weekend course. Not sure what is considered hoarding. If you see a coming food shortage and you buy enough for your family to get through the famine, are you hoarding? I guess its up to individual interpretation.

I think that anything tried will be fought in the courts for some time. Based on the recent Heller decision, we (gun owners) should win in the long run. According to that decision the 2nd Amendment directly pertains to individual ownership of military style weapons... it is clearly stated in the decision. Affordable ammunition is as important to the use of a military style weapon or any weapon as wheels are to an automobile. So in the long wrong trying to control firearm use through ammunition taxes and regulation should be defeated in the courts based on the Heller decision. But if it takes a few years, ammo could get pretty expensive and hard to acquire in the mid term.

Maybe folks should have thought about what they were really voting for before they made the drive to the polls.

“Just 2% of voters who supported Barack Obama on Election Day obtained perfect or near-perfect scores on a post election test which gauged their knowledge of statements and scandals associated with the presidential tickets during the campaign, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.”